Bridges!

Baseball had such a great idea! Run the bridges again, like we did last winter.

Except I was in better shape last winter!

That being said, it was an amazing day for this run. One of the few Saturdays where the temperature and the humidity were fairly reasonable. I did say fairly: it was humid enough that Gorgeous and I went shirtless for most of the run, as our shirts were so soaked that they weren't helping to wick the sweat away at all.

But the breeze! Fabulous!

Ran up to GAP, as usual. Then we went down to the Brooklyn Bridge and did a quick over and back. Dancer made short work of all the Boot Camp people doing stairs by threatening them with her sharp elbows. We were through with no problems. And then, amazingly, there were very few tourists on the bridge! What a treat!
After a quick water stop, we ran over to the Manhattan Bridge. Watching the water made the time pass on this one. The girls need to step it up a bit, as Ivy League, the new guy, Photographer, the Scandinavian and Roll Call were all ahead of us. But, we were cuter.

Up to the Williamsburg Bridge. We encountered the North Brooklyn Runners on the bridge. They are quick and they all wear their team shirts, it seems like. We challenged them to a friendly rumble down in Prospect Park. Their uniforms gave them an immediate advantage, it seemed like to me. Oh, and the fact that they were all really fast. Minor details.

Going over the Williamsburg Bridge is so hard in that direction! There's the really long uphill and then the short, steep downhill that poses other problems for the knees. Gorgeous and I sighed quietly after finishing that one. (I'm probably just putting that emotion onto her so that I feel better for how I felt afterwards: she was likely just 'taking it easy' over it.)

I shared my water bottles again with the fellows, who hadn't brought their own. Off, then, to the Pulaski. Up Bedford to Manhattan, then over on Freeman to McGuiness. Then the bridge. Still chugging but really starting to feel the previous 15+ mile run I did on Wednesday.

Then, looming, appeared the Queensboro Bridge. "It can't be THAT high!" exclaimed Gorgeous. I was right there with her. Unfortunately, it was that high. My gluts were on fire over this bridge and, so, I pushed it just to get over the bridge.

An awful lot of bridge for so little water, I think.

Visions of iced coffee pushed me to the end. That, and I figured I could persuade Gorgeous to get a smoothie.

Gorgeous said that we did the last 8 miles at approximately a 8:26 or 8:25 pace. I forget. Not blazing, again, but I'll take it.....About 15 1/2 for me, so I actually got near Old Sarah's number of miles for a week when she was slacking a bit!

Plus, we got to get smoothies. And they were delicious!

Familiar and Novel, the Remix

Yesterday, I raced out before a doctor's appointment to get a run in. I didn't need to do much, and I didn't have much time, so I thought I'd do the usual. Up Eastern Parkway, around the park counter-clockwise......the run I could probably do in my sleep and likely have at least once at around 4:30am. Then, I decided to do something crazy!

I went up Washington. A neat alternative to Flatbush. Plus, I didn't need to go that far and it cut about .75 off of the run, leaving me at 6. Right where I wanted, as I'm still trying to ramp up miles and my poor little stubby chubbies have been complaining about it.

Good news: the run felt good and it was great to do something different during part of this somewhat boring loop. Bad news: I thought I was steaming along at a pretty good pace until I looked at my Garmin (working again!) at the end. 8:03/mile pace, on average. Not so steaming. Ah well.

Distance!

Got a chance to run with Superman again yesterday. Having run three days in a row by Monday, and knowing that the run would be a long one if Superman were involved, I skipped my run on Tuesday. Bright and early yesterday morning, I was out on a delightful run with Superman! The sweat was flying as we battled the sun over the Brooklyn Bridge, the film crews trying to keep us out of Battery Park, and the crowds of China Town.
Meeting at GAP, we flew down to Smith Street, wandered past the area with the court buildings, and finally weaves back to the Brooklyn Bridge. After stopping for some water and an inhaler puff, we raced down through the financial district, weaving around the tourists on Wall Street before getting down to the water. A filming in progress forced us to weave some more before getting back to the path on the water. We finished off the path at the West Side Highway and ran up to Canal, taking a quick gu and water break before the craze of Chinatown. Over the Manhattan Bridge and back up to Court Street, we picked up the pace until we were really working on the Park Slope Hill. One of us had a birthday party to supervise!
We weaved too much for me to know exactly where we went, and my Garmin has been acting up so I didn't bring it on the run, relying instead on my old-school wristwatch. But, I think I did at least 15, after running back and past home.
It felt great. The pace might have been quite slow, for all I know. But my perceived effort level was about medium, spiking upwards during the pickups like the one at the end. Great run. Great company.
I'll take off either today or tomorrow, depending on what shakes up. I've been ramping up my miles a lot and don't want to increase them too quickly.
Old Sarah would see thirty miles so far this week as an indication of slacking. New Sarah sees this as an indication of mature restraint.
I hope that people can be persuaded to do the bridges run this weekend! That would be so much fun.

Fulton Street!

Ah......Lovely, lovely Fulton Street! How I've missed your dirty napkins, your rancid fried chicken smell.......

Trying to get a run in before appointments today, and having left my Garmin uncharged, I needed to stay on a more familiar route. Just when I had another chance to go exploring, alas, I had to stay with the park so I had an idea of the miles entailed.

But I needed to add on, so I ran down Brooklyn to Fulton and then up Vanderbilt before going the opposite direction around the outside of the park. Actually, a great combination. To be able to see a familiar yet recently absent friend and to see another familiar from a different perspective made the run surprisingly exciting - like an old lover in new clothes.

Plus, the relatively familiar turns enabled me to concentrate on the paper I've been writing and the surrounding scenery, instead of the route itself.

With my breathing under control and my degree of perceived effort at about lower-middle range, I was heartened to see that I had gone almost 8 1/4 miles at about a 7:42 pace when I mapped it. Steps! Progress! And the paper structure is really coming along in my head.

Plus, I got to see the sights of my neighborhood. Ah, solo runs!

Relax!

Thinking I was going to be the only runner out today for the group run, I was pleasently surprised when I saw Smiley come up to the meeting spot while I was getting water. Slow loop around the park, getting to catch up. Ran down Vanderbilt with him and finished up with a quicker-paced run down Bergen and up over to Kingston before heading home. The temperature on Bergen, with no shade, felt miles different than the temperature on Eastern Parkway. Gotta love the greenway.

My knee is hurting some now - I hope just because of the slant in the park. Must make sure to ice. Got in a bit over 7. Need to go faster but a recovery run isn't always a bad thing.

Running just puts me in the right mindset to get other things done - things I've been dreading but that I know will make me happier, ultimately, if I just go ahead and do them.

Demographics

I just finished the Friday crossword and I had to ask, "Really? How many baseball, classic writers, and classical music questions does one crossword need to have?!" It's not like there were that many of each but they were ones that I had to solve with the crosses. And sometimes they crossed each other!

Then I realized: demographics. Just like the Game Show Network, one of my two favorite T.V. channels. When watching it, I am innundated with commercials with tag lines like, "It's easy, with Tweezy!" and "Health Alert saved me and could save you, too!" Hover-rounds and medical supplies - right to your door! - factor in heavily, as well. I am, I am glad to say, not in their target demographic.

Similarly, I don't think I'm in the target demographic for the NYT crossword puzzle. Sure, Friday is supposed to be hard, but I'd do a lot better answering NBA questions, or obscure 80's music, or such like that. They've been getting better about this - and I've also been getting older, which might help as well - but I just don't know what team Ted Kluszewski played on when he won the 1954 N.L. home run title! I had to get that one on the crossses. Among others. That one was especially hard because one of the crosses was the 1969 Oscar-winning title role of someone I've never heard of.

I think I might find a pursuit that is within my own demographic. I don't want to cross over to another too soon.

Queens' Half

So - wow. Went out to Queens this morning and ran a pretty crappy run, even considering the heat and lack of training. Finished in 1:43:27.

From the start, I could tell it wasn't going as smoothly as planned. I was trying to do it as a training run and, in fact, was going to run with Gorgeous, but couldn't find her at the start. No worries: I came with the Engineer, who was planning to run around an 8:00/mile pace. "Alright", I thought, "This shouldn't be too bad". Well. From the first mile, my legs felt tired. Really tired. Which is strange, as I hadn't run for two days before. In fact, I had been so tired the day before that I had actually gotten about 10 hours sleep! Now, given the heat and such, the tiredness was understandable to a point but this was supposed to be a fairly easy pace for me. My lungs were fine. No problems there throughout the whole race. It was just my legs. I couldn't get into a rythym and my back started hurting.

We took the first mile at 8:19, the next at 7:50, the third at 7:35, then slowed down a bit again, as I knew that the Engineer had aimed for an average 8:00/mile pace. We kept running together through the first two out and backs. I'm pretty sure he was right behind me at around mile 8 but I was getting that feeling that, if I didn't speed up a bit, I would just walk off the course and call it a day. At this point, the heat was getting to me a bit. I drank too much water on the course and my stomach felt sloshy. I really think the key to this summer running is not to be in air conditioning unless you can help it. I should have insisted on no air last night!

After about mile 9 or so, other people were feeling it, too. My back was feeling much better - I think because I had sped up a bit, changing my stride. Since the injury, my stride has felt a bit different and my gluts and back have been tighter and hurting more. Passing people on this part - and the partial shade and breeze - made it feel better. Rounding out to mile 12, I was happy to be almost done and happy that I wasn't feeling too badly. Interestingly, my legs felt no more tired at mile 12 than they did at mile 1! Pushed the pace a bit the last mile or two but I didn't have my watch so I don't really know by how much.

Not an epic fail - my quad feels ok and my other parts are hurting only slightly. Still not the easy training run my time would indicate.

Hopefully, I'll have better luck on intellectual endeavors today!

Wow!

Tonight's race was inspirational! But first......

I waited to see if anyone would show but left at 7:17 pm. I figured the time of year, the heat, and the race would prevent others from coming out. In fact, once I hit the start of the race, I saw why! Those who I hadn't seen running the race were volunteering for it. It was so exciting to see familiar faces, I stopped to chat for a minute.

But then I started again. Serious business to take care of, you know! I had to watch the race. After all, I was wearing my PPTC sports bra in support.


The first man was flying. Wow. And in the weather, that was exceptional. What was even more exceptional was the first woman. Holy moly! Not only was she cute but she was about 6th in the whole race when I saw her. With a stride that cried "I mean business", she was outstripping most of the men. So awe-inducing.

The Child Whisperer was doing quite well for herself, in 3rd when I saw her, hanging on in front of a younger woman who was trying to poach her place. And other teammates were soldiering on in the heat, making me feel like a slacker.

Exactly what I needed! Some alone time, some inspiration....And, wait, there's someone behind me!

Blue Eyes found me around the last mile and I got to have some one-on-one time with him as we finished off the run.

So satisfying. Some slower running, some striders, some speed at the end with Blue Eyes. And some more striders on the way home. My quad is still tired - I'm glad I only did 6.4 today - but the 2nd week in a row of running 3 days in a row has gone quite well, if slowly. I might try for number four in Manhattan tomorrow!

Where......

.....has all the fitness gone?


The first week of marathon training started inauspiciously. I didn't run. I claim it's because my father was really worried about me in the heat, which was true, but I could have gotten up earlier to run. I just couldn't be bothered. Instead, it was on the stationary bike and lifting some weights. Well. Where's my resolve?

So I got Ivy League to help whip me into action on Monday. As I left the house, I thought "Wow. I'm really glad I'm meeting somebody, else I wouldn't be going anywhere except to the couch." The day, while really productive paper-wise, was also really draining. My brain was non-functional and needed a rest.

I must remember that, sometimes, the best rest it can get is to go on a run.

After a brief negotiation, Ivy League and I decided to run down Ocean Parkway a ways. On our way through the park, we ran across the Engineer, who was planning to run long, having taken his kids fishing that weekend. Through some fancy talking, we persuaded him to run with us. Later, I was especially glad that we did.

For Ivy League is in much better shape than either me or the Engineer! We just couldn't keep up. But we had a great time trying! And I persuaded him to run down Eastern Parkway with me, so I had an escort home - an unnecessary but appreciated luxury. And I got in around 9 miles or so.

Remembering when........

I could do a turn-around run with no problem, even when both runs were much longer. I'm clinging to the thought that, in time, my rear will no longer ache with the thought of running again so soon! But, I had promised the Speedy Blonde.....

And again, so glad I got out the door! Remembering that it's usually better to do so is important, too. It's been long enough that I forget. Stupid memory.

In Central Park, listening to beach stories, experiencing the green after the rain. So nice. Back to writing papers in my spurt of productivity. I don't think it's coincidental that this is happening at the same time I'm finally able to run more. Managed to get in 7 or so today.

Now, if only I could come to peace with the rest of my life......

Oh. My other new pursuit. Scrabble. It's surprisingly interesting. I used to hate it. Maybe this indicates that I can reconcile myself with other elements that I don't like.

The Sugar Shack

Ah, Baltimore!!!!!

After a relaxing night of playing scrabble and seeing the sights on the water, the Vivacious Redhead and I headed out for a steamy Baltimore run. We slept in and didn't leave until 8:00am or so, which was great for the stress levels but not quite as good for the temperature levels.

Since today was one of the last runs before training kicks in, I didn't stop my watch when we got to lights or when we stopped for water. I'm sure we were going slowly but it was nice - I never felt like I was pushing it at all and I got to be the chattering tour guide as we went through downtown Baltimore, up past the train station and where they were getting ready for Artscape, and up past John Hopkins University. Besides the run on the piers and the run up to the Science Center in the Harbor, it was basically a two-turn run from Fells Point over to Charles St, up and back. On the way back, which is more downhill, the Vivacious Redhead couldn't believe how steep some of the hills were that we had run up on the way out to Hopkins. Topped it all off with a 3/4 mile cool-down walk and some iced coffee. Delicious way to end a 10-mile run.

Who Knew Three Days in a Row Could Be So Hard?!

The cashier looked horrified as he picked up the Vitamin Water bottle from Superman's grasp. Touching it with two fingers, the cashier rung it up and handed it back as if it were some sort of weapon. It was that sort of day. We still had about 3 miles or so to run and both of us appeared as if we had been bathing in a pool. Which we had, of a sort, given the air!
Met up a bit later than usual with Superman. It was so great to run with him! Hadn't seen him in a while. The run was awesome but a bit sad, as one of my daytime running partners will no longer be available for daytime runs. Ah, well. With a bike race for him and it being my first time running 3 days in a row for about 6 weeks, we both took it a bit slowly. But the time passed quickly, given the amount of catching up we had to do and given the always fantastic scenery in New York. That's something I think I would miss, were I to move from this city.

My house to GAP to Brooklyn Bridge to Battery Park to the West Side Highway to Manhattan Bridge back up to near the promenade. Then, down Henry Street to Park Slope, where I stopped to buy some much needed new socks. Ran with a hole in one of mine the whole way today. Almost 13 miles? I'm not trying to track the mileage so much now as I am trying to make sure I feel better.

Man, my quad is tired. It's gonna be an off day for me tomorrow!

Central Park

Whew! What a day!

Didn't hear the reassuring jangle of my alarm. Started awake anxiously and late. The beginning presaged how the day would unfold, albeit in a more benign way than the crazed start might have indicated.

Tantalizing rejection letter, followed by a mad scramble to meet the Speedy Blonde. Like my day, my run started frantically. Damp clung to our skin as we started towards Central Park. The rain had agreed to a temporary cease-fire that it would later violate. Puffing our way up the first hill, with the Speedy Blonde in the lead, we encounter none other than Story Finder, hooding it in the other direction!

After our offer to run with her was waved off in the cloud of dust raised by her furiously spinning feet, the Speedy Blonde and I looked at each other with relief. "Boy, was she going fast!"

The return of the rain added a child-like and delightful element to the run that helped ameliorate the pain of the backside of Cat Hill. Wow. If we keep this up, the Speedy Blonde and I will be doing hill workouts every week. Maybe we can persuade Ivy League to come and do some lip-to-lip repeats with us.....

Knowing that the Chestershire Cat had already started her training, I felt like I shouldn't be a total slacker and ran with the Speedy Blonde up to the Museum of Natural History, before panicking about the time and rushing back to get to another meeting, which got me a bit over seven miles or so. My training for New York doesn't officially start until next week but I don't want to have to stare at the backside of the Chestershire Cat during the half we'll be running because she trained more than I did.

I am not, however, a bit competitive.

Still worried about my quad, as it doesn't seem quite right, but I'm hanging in there. I might have changed my stride a bit, as both my hamstrings and flutes have been sorer and tighter than they should be, even considering that the small number of miles that I have been doing is more, sadly, than I am currently used to. Is this stride change a bad thing?

North By Northwest

Realizing the level one is at.....

I swallowed my pride on Sunday and, realizing that a 12-mile run is actually rather long for me now, and trying to be conservative on my quad, i spectated instead of participating in any physical activity. Man, was I sad that the Netherlands lost! However, Ramos is totally my boyfriend.....

However, I took the opportunity yesterday between work commitments to take a run up the West Side Highway trail. Upon discovering that they had finished the long-awaited segment that connects the lower part to the part past 97th street, I just had to continue on the lower trail, braving the shimmering blacktop. Looking at the water, even with it's scum and dead fish, made me forget about all the stress that's been simmering within my head and body lately.
Went 1:03:43. Even with the heat and out-of-shapeless, I figure I went at least six miles. Small steps.

Suave and I had the chance to play the crossword game on Sunday, a rare treat. I won. It was weally easy - surprisingly so! (no, that w is not a typo) more like a Wednesday or a Tuesday than a Sunday, which is usually morevlike a larger-sized Thursday.

Running with the Speedy Blonde again today. I'm excited!

Forget nature

Let's go urban!

Who needs beautiful nature and the Palisades when you have Bed Stuy?!

Didn't go with the speedy blonde to the Palisades because I was trying to be responsible and not mess up my leg. Plus, I would have been the one holding up the whole run while I puffed away, not knowing the route.

So, instead of nature, urban.

Gorgeous, the Vivacious Redhead, the Scandinavian, Beer and Cheese, and the Urban Planner and I had some discussion but ultimately decided on the Williamsburg Bridge to Manhattan Bridge route today. Here's a synopsis of the dialogue on the run:
Gorgeous: what about ........?
Me: :wheeze:

One by one, they all left the run, leaving me with Gorgeous. Not at bad place to be! Except I was trying not to lose my lung, my butt was on fire, and we couldn't catch a red light if we tried. I know: I used all my tricks, including the 'slow down for a small child' one. However, all became magically better when we got to our true destination. The Bagel Hole. And coffee two doors down.

11.5 to 12 miles later, my leg still didn't hurt that much. Or, maybe other things hurt more and cancelled it out! I'll try to run tomorrow but don't want to push it.

Meanwhile, I have potential running meet-ups with both Gorgeous and the Speedy Blonde! Eek! Will my legs, lungs, and ego take it? Stay tuned......

In other news, maybe it was because I was so tired but the crossword was brutal today! I had to keep coming back to it. This one was just a bully. 'Field's two' being oscars?! I had to get that mostly on the cross and on a prayer. I was proud to get 'swards' but then who the heck knows that 'beneath one's dignity' can also be said by saying 'infra dig', which is short for the Latin. I dare anyone to use that in a sentence and not get sneered at, as one sneers as a possible reaction to a pretense, a la 45 down!

Sigh. I got it done though. Like the run, sometimes that's all one is hoping for.......

Ready for some Exploration

but stuck (for now) in the usual

Bed-Stuy, Greenpoint, East New York, Owl's Head Promenade. Enticing me with their odd little shops and unique storefronts, or their ten-degree temperature difference and the ambiance of Vancouver to one's right. Whispering the promise of new loves while I ran on the worn and familiar. But the familiar is what I need right now, even if I don't want it. I need to stay close to either home or to the subway, in case my leg starts hurting. PT's orders.

I took some much-needed alone time and ran around the outside of the Prospect Park this morning. Having spent so much time alone in Hawaii, it's been an adjustment to come back to a place where I am expected to interact with others on a daily basis. The heat having abated, the run was an easy one, with no watch and no company save my own. It's only 6.75 miles but they were solid and much-needed ones.

I also got some education today on history, a subject I have always been bad at, having a bad memory for both dates and names. Did you know that the Pisans lost the Battle of Meloria in 1284? Or that Lake Micmac, in Nova Scotia, is named after a Native American tribe? As can often happen with Friday's, the puzzle was frustrating but ultimately solvable.

More Running in the Heat Wave

Yesterday, after not feeling ill effects, leg-wise, from running with the speedy blonde, I decided to send a last-minute running invitation to Ivy League. I got to run with him through all the paths and by-ways in Prospect Park, as we were trying to avoid direct sunlight whenever possible. Even with singlets and visors on, the heat was quite oppressive. A combination of my out-of-shapeness and the heat made me start to hyperventilate and get dizzy on part of the run but I was still really glad that I did it, and with such fun company. Ivy League actually started running instead of jogging at the end, so I was far back behind him on Eastern Parkway. It's good to figure out, though, what your level of fitness, or lack thereof, is. At least we did about 6 miles.

Forming a baseline......

Yesterday evening, panic struck. My leg swelled some and was kinda painful. I bagged my run this morning and went to another PT. The doctor said not to run. The PT said to run, but to stop whenever it starts hurting or feeling painful and to bag it there for the day. Plus, I got ultrasound, which is what I really went for. More strenthening exercises and more ultrasound to follow.


Boy is it getting close to training time again......


Trying to stay hopeful! I'll try again tomorrow morning, I think. Bagging the run in Northern Manhattan, though. It's too ambitious for me right now.

Managing expectations is hard when you are managing your own.

Feeling like a Snowball in H@@@

After having too much delicious food and sunning myself in the gorgeous weather in both Kona and Oahu, I shook off my jet lag and decided to get back to business yesterday, both figuratively and literally. After sending off a paper, I met the speedy blonde for a loop of Central Park.

At 3:00pm. When it was over one hundred degrees outside. Maybe not the smartest move!

However, we had the park pretty much to ourselves, with the exception of the desperate bicycle taxis, offering us rides around the park. Plus, I hadn't seen the speedy blonde for a while and we both had races and plans to relate. So we chatted excitedly through the first few miles, not even feeling the heat so much. After the excitement wore off, the sun started coming through the asphalt and we faltered a bit. She suggested we cut the loop off at the transverse - a wise move, given the day. Aftervgetting through the transverse, I received the 'weenie of the day' award by suggesting that we walk for a bit. I was hyperventilating, likely due to both the heat and my excessive time off.

We finished, though. Which was great. And now we've got plans to go running again, which is also great. What a good person to run with.

Not so great: the cross-training I tried in Hawaii kind of backfired on me. Recumbent bikes are not a great idea for my knees, it turns out. Going to physical therapy again! Was up half the night because of weird leg pains.

Got to do the Sunday crossword on paper again. What a treat! I liked the theme of this one: took a second to figure out but was easy as pie once you did.

I've actually never understood why pie was considered easy. Making pie crust is a type of art form.

I'm going to call yesterday five miles. Artistic license.